October 2006

Many of the youth in our system of care are at-risk of dropping out of school, or have already done so. What research exists on successful strategies for re-integration? Are there examples of programs that have successfully re-integrated students who have dropped out of school back into academic environments, and/or re-engaged them with the community?

A. American Youth Policy Forum has recently published a valuable new resource addressing this issue: Whatever it Takes: How Twelve Communities are Reconnecting Out of School Youth. This report is divided into a number of sections, including a) dropout statistics; b) an overview of general characteristics of successful programs; c) case studies of twelve communities that have had success in getting at-risk youth back into school; and d) national programs and recommendations for policy and practice in this area.

Drop-Out Statistics
The report begins with a number of bulleted facts about drop-outs, including the startling statistic that “every nine seconds in America a student becomes a dropout.” The data indicates that drop-out prevalence is much higher for students with disabilities, and for certain ethnic groups, such as African-Americans, American Indians, and Latinos. These statistics may be useful for targeting an intervention group, and for advocacy and outreach efforts around the importance of dropout prevention and intervention.  

General Recommendations for Drop-Out Intervention
Take a look at this section, included in the guide introduction, and you can see the critical overlap between the population of youth highlighted in the guide, and those served by systems of care.

“The large majority of out-of-school youth have been impeded not only by poor prior schooling, but also by social, economic, and psychological barriers to effective learning. To become successful adults they need multiple supports. Improved schooling alone will not “fix” these young people or solve their manifold problems....At a minimum, these typically low-income and often troubled students must have ready access to support services in such vital areas as health, nutrition, teen parenting, childcare, transportation, substance abuse treatment, mental health, and instruction in English as a second language."

Collaboration among agencies, a seamless network of services targeting multiple needs, and a focus on a youth-involved and youth-driven agenda are key principles shared by both systems of care and successful dropout intervention programs. This section also includes observations on other key elements, crucial stakeholders, and the kinds of funding streams generally utilized by dropout recovery programs.

Case Studies
The bulk of the guide is dedicated to spotlighting individual programs across the country.

This section opens with a brief discussion of how sites were selected, and also includes an overview of some of the characteristics common to a majority of the programs. These include elements such as:

• open door/open exit policies;
• flexible scheduling and year-round learning;
• teachers as coaches, facilitators, and crew leaders;
• real-world, career-oriented curricula;
• opportunities for employment;
• clear codes of conduct with consistent enforcement;
• extensive support services;
• a portfolio of options for a varied group.

Highlighted programs are located in Arizona, California, Kentucky, Maryland, Texas, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, and Utah. Take a look at what communities in these States have done to see if you can use the same strategies in your own community.

National Resources and Recommendations
This section highlights national financial and programmatic resources for preventing drop-outs and re-engaging youth in school and work.

While Federal funds, according to this report, pay for only a minority of dropout recovery programs, there are a number of national programs working in this field, including:

• Job Corps;
• Jobs for America’s Graduates;
• National Guard Youth ChalleNGe;
• Opportunities Industrialization Centers;
• YouthBuild; and
• Youth Service and Conservation Corps.

Find out if these organizations have activities and programs in your State, and if so, how you can collaborate with them.

To find out more about Whatever It Takes; visit AYPF Web site at: http://www.aypf.org/publications/WhateverItTakes.htm

To download the full report, visit: http://www.aypf.org/publications/WhateverItTakes/WITfull.pdf

To find out more about dropout rates and dropout prevention, take a look at the April Education FAQ: http://www.tapartnership.org/advisors/education/faq/April06.asp